Fat Old Guy

"To try and get a person who is having a hard time to learn anymore then six or seven is pushing it." I would guess that's why they call the award "Master Knotter." "I think that you must first think about the people that you hope to train. As I say I think that I'm a little above average. I really don't want to "Re-learn" the basic knots. " I would hope that you wouldn't have to re-learn the basics. This could be your opportunity to show off and demonstrate tying a bowline with your eyes closed.

"I don't mind the Indiana Jones style either, but I think making any Scouting related hat uniform wear was a mistake." I don't think that they are. Troops may adopt a troop hat but BSA uniform hats have been limited in number and are defined in various publications. At best, the pink cap is only a uniform cap during the event.

"Military tradition states that the Stars lead the way." I wouldn't call it a "tradition," the rule has only been in effect for a little more than 10 years.

I enjoy knots. Call me odd but I do. What I look at is why a knot will do a job better than a similar knot. Why use a Carrick Bend when a Sheet bend will tie two lines together. They have different purposes. Why not use a square knot to tie two climbing ropes together? Each knot has a reason that it was developed years ago. For me that helps me learn and remember the knot.

"This youth membership consists of: 3,223 Cub Scout aged boys -- 69% 1211 Boy Scouts/Varsity Scouts -- 26% 205 Venturers -- 4% " Wow! That's not small, that's tiny.

"Why does a leader first have to be a good folower. Where does it say or whaere has it been proven so? " Call the Marine Corps Basic School in Quantico and ask them. As for Ike, he was a product of the Military Academy where they teach leadership and followership.(This message has been edited by Fat Old Guy)

As I reported elsewhere and elsewhen, I watched a Pack die. It was sad, like watching a person wither way. I salute the memory of your group (with the appropriate palm out salute )

"I gave $1,000 bucks to the council in the form of payroll deduction." That's the extra mile. That's way beyond anything that I'd do. $80 a month is more than a few lunches. If I was an underpaid employee, I'd be quite aggrevated if they expected me to lead the charge and donate money. I'm quite perturbed when they come to the volunteers to not only have to PAY to belong to BSA but put in one hour a week (twenty or thirty times each week) and put the screws to them.

" The individuals who are members should know that they are members. The list of members should be known so as to avoid confusion when it comes time for any important issue to be addressed." Committee members should know who they are because they filled out a membership application and wrote a check to BSA. If they didn't fill out a membership application with "Committee member" on it, they aren't committee members.

"After listening to ZZTops' "Tube Steak Boogie"," Urrrrrrrhhhhh . . . it's "Tube SNAKE Boogie.

"Homophiles? Never heard that one. Is that like X Philes? Or the Rockford Philes?" I can't help it if your vocabulary sucks. It's in the dictionary, look it up. "Or does it just mean people who don't think people should be discriminated against just because they're gay? " You really have some strange ideas. Why would anyone discriminate against happy people?

I've long said that charities are better served if we just donate directly.

Yep, I made a boo-boo. The homophiles would say that my slip shows some tendencies on my part.

"Committee members can and often do were uniforms, so to say uniformed leaders have no vote is incorrect." We have an ASM who insists on using the term "uniformed leaders" which sticks in my craw because 90% of the Committee wears a uniform (or parts of it =:-o )

How you organize your committee is up to you but no votes are needed. The Committee Chair is in charge and can make decisions but that doesn't seem to be the way that it works most of the time. We allow all registered adults to attend committee meetings and vote but we have the same six or so adults at nearly every meeting. I suppose that if an adult wanted to pay their $10 to get the right to vote, they could do that.

Ed, Don't you see that your rule about when the committee meets is unnecessary? If your committee members lived by the Scout Law, they would all be courteous and hold the meetings at a time when it was convenient for all committee members and interested parents who wish to attend.

I found a couple programs that will convert any audio stream into wav or mp3 formats. One is ARwizard and the other is MCIrecorder. Both are available as free downloads with a cost to register them and activate all of their features.

". And then it turned into a "debate" about how FOG misinterpreted what Acco said." I didn't misinterpret what Acco said. I believe that Acco misused "avowed" and avowed. James Dale was an avowed homosexual when he said, "I like boys." It doesn't matter where his parts had been. He commited a homosexual act when he looked at a man and felt the stirrings of arousal. And why would he say that he was a homosexual if he wasn't?

" I was an "avowed" heterosexual while still a virgin. " Not too difficult to be since you were still behaving in a heterosexual fashion. You were checking out cuties with toughts of doing things with them or to them. That's a heterosexual activity. You weren't an "avowed" heterosexual, you were an avowed heterosexual. On the flip side of the coin, the young man who looks at the captain of the football team in his spandex pants and thinks, "Yummy!" is engaging in a form of heterosexual behavior. When he says, "I am a homosexual", he is an avowed homosexual even if he hasn't done the nasty deed itself.

"One example of a rule that I don't think is necessary has something to do with "avowed" behavior. {Actually not necessarily behavior per se.)" "Avowed behavior" is behavior that the person has admitted so unless he is lying, it happened.

The thread about Eagle prompted me to look at the requirements for Eagle Scout and was surprised. I had long been told that an Eagle project could not benefit Scouting. However, the requirment says "should not." So it seems that this is not a hard and fast rule.

" was trained that a unit needs to file one whenever it leaves its current meeting place. " Please excuse me but that's insane. "Hey Mr. SM, I got us VIP passes to the Laker's game on Saturday. Can we take the troop?" "Sorry, no time to get a tour permit." How about "Mr. SM, the pipes broke in the meeting hall, we have to move to the Baptist church." "Sorry, no tour permit." What is the purpose of the tour permit? There was a myth that insurance wasn't effective without a tour permit but at the last UoS that was shot down.

" On a whim, we picked up their checks." That's a heck of a whim, thanks.

"Remember, Baden-Powell's military background" Back in B-P's day and especially in the British Army, things were very different than they are today. I wasn't there but based on my readings, the British Army officer viewed privates as deserters waiting to happen, the individual soldier was considered shiftless and dishonest. Commands to non-coms generally took the form of conversations but instructions to the other ranks took the form of shouting, often followed by insults.

"Thanks, Hops and FOG for giving me credit for wanting to go to the United States Military Academy at West Point" Well, that's different I had visions of you standing in a long line of buck naked men (fortunately, they put the buck naked women in another line ) when a corpsman stamps your papers "4-F". You know, it might not be too late. You're how old? :-)(This message has been edited by Fat Old Guy)